Aspen Ski and Board Co.
Polaris Location
614-848-6600
Columbus Location
614-459-6666
Web Sales
877-861-0777
ski gear,snowboard equipment,ski boots and bindings

Buckling for Everyone

Upon closing for the season every April, Aspen Ski and Board staff members pick a destination for a week long vacation to celebrate a successful year and seek out some deep snow conditions and big mountain riding. Mount Bachelor, Oregon is always on our radar, having spent our shop trip there in the spring of 2007. The mountain had received incredible amounts of snow starting in March and made the decision to lock the trip up. We were NOT disappointed. Shredding occurred in such quantity and excitement that most other visitors to the mountain simply stopped in their lines to marvel at our steeze. Rails were thrashed. Kickers were kicked. Cliffs were hucked. Powder was pillaged. We love sharing our time on the mountain just as much as hearing the wonderful tales from all our customers about their experiences. Below are a few of the more memorable pictures from our recent trip.

  1. Avoid putting cold boots on your feet. For one, low temperature makes the plastic of the boot much stiffer, effectively making you work harder just to get your boots on. The more obvious reason is a cold boot reduces the temperature of your feet, stacking the odds against you of getting cold before you get in the lift line. Bring your boots into the lodge and make them the last thing you put on—by then they should have adjusted to room temperature.
  2. Skiers and snowboarders exert too much energy trying to get their boots on. Many people believe that pulling the tongue straight out is the correct method for inserting your foot into the boot. This actually decreases the distance between the instep and the heel. This can make it especially difficult for people with high insteps to get their feet it. Instead of pulling the tongue of the boot directly out, move it to the side as hard you are able (you won’t hurt the tonque) and pull out to create a larger opening in the lower shell of the boot. More space to work with makes it easier to get your feet in and keeps exhaustion levels intact until you actually get on the slopes.
  3. You’re in your boots—now what? This is where the important stuff happens. The best bootfitters in the world (like us) don’t jump into buckling your boots tight for the day right off the bat.
  4. First you need to make sure that your insole isn’t crunched or your socks didn’t fold up—because anything else we do after definitely won’t remedy those two things.
  5. Before we go any further, note that even amongst life-long professionals of the sport, no ONE buckling method has been agreed upon. The following is what we suggest as a great way to make sure fit and comfort are attained in a sequential manner.
  6. If all feels well (and assuming you are in a four buckle boot) the next step is to begin buckling. A war rages on the correct buckling theory to this very day. Our education from the world renowned Masterfit University sees one of the current trends is to buckle from the bottom to the top. Other bootfitters will start at the third buckle from the toe. For those that battle with buckling across the calf, we suggest using the power strap at the top of the boot to help make buckling easier. The goal is to buckle to a tension that is relatively easy to bring the buckle to the closed position. If you can close the buckle using one finger, that is a good place to start.
  7. Stop right there. You will need to be standing for the next part. Go ahead and “flex” the boot; by this I mean drive your knee forward so that it hovers directly above your toes. This action of getting in a common ski stance facilitates heel movement to the back of the boot and is crucial to avoid over tightening. Flex the boot several times until the heel feels comfortable inside the liner.
  8. Now it is time to close the remaining two buckles of the boot. Again, you are buckling to a point of minimum tension. It should be relatively easy to close the buckles down. Flex the boot several more times to make sure the instep buckle has not inhibited your heel from going back in to the ankle pocket. If you have a power strap on the top part of the boot, you may tighten that down to a tension appropriate to the rest of the boot.
  9. It is at this point where many skiers make the mistake of continuing to tighten down their buckles. Instead of traveling down that road of pain, do a warm up run when you are ready and begin to tighten down as you go. Once your heart rate is higher than its resting state, you’ll be pumping more blood to your feet—making that warm up run (or two, or three) well worth the time. It is at this point you should buckle your boots to your desired tightness. Most people that switch to this method find a huge drop of constant cramping, numbness, and cold feet.

It is important to realize that skiing on “loose” boots is just as big of a mistake as clamping down the moment you set foot on snow. The key point to remember is steady progression. Dealing with varying temperatures and intense physical activity are enough to deal with. Don’t throw another wrench in your day by turning your boots into makeshift tourniquets.

Aspen Ski and Board Company is your source for all your ski accessories and snowboard accessories. We carry: ski goggles, Snowboard bags, ski bags, ski boot bags, watches, ski helmets, boots, snowboard helmets, sunglasses, snowboard goggles, tuning supplies, tuning service, and gift cards for every occasion. We have all the major brands, including: Burton, Croakies, Dakine, DC, Descente, Giro, Goode, High Sierra, Level Gloves, Lorpen, Mental, Nixon, Oakley, Scott, Skull Candy, Smith Sport Optics, SpyOptics, Superfeet, and Thule.

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Welcome to the Web site for Aspen Ski and Board Company, the premier ski and snowboard specialty shop in the country offering complete lines of progressive ski and snowboard gear and accessories. Our retail stores in Columbus Ohio and online store and website offer: junior skis, kids skis, childrens skis, mens and womens snowboards, freeride snowboards, freestyle snowboards, kids snowboards, junior snowboards, children's snowboards, cross-country skis, cross country ski packages, mens and womens cross country skis, cross country boots, cross country bindings, cross country poles, complete line of cross country skis gear. Our online store, retail stores offer women's outdoor clothing and men's outdoor clothing, including jackets, ski apparel, ski clothes, outerwear, snowboard gear, kids snowboard coats, shell jackets, snowboard hoodies,, ski gloves, ski socks, snowboard pants, snowboard gloves, shoes, fleece jackets, waterproof pants, and windproof fleece for a variety of outdoor sports like skiing, snowboarding, cross country skiing, snow boarding, snow skis, alpine sports, winter sports. Snowboard bags, ski bags, ski boot bags, watches, ski helmets, boots, snowboard helmets, ski accessories, snowboard accessories, ski goggles, sunglasses, snowboard goggles, tuning supplies, tuning service, gift cards for every occasion, ski gift cards, snowboard gift cards. In the sale section of the online store, shoppers can buy cheap skis, cheap snowboards and cheap snowboard boots. We stock and sell all the major brands in skis and snowboards

All major brands, winter sports brands including: 5150, Sessions, 686, Nordica, Gordini, Swany, Level Gloves, Rome Snowboards, Arbor, Atomic, Bern, Bonfire, Dakine, Elan, Flow, Grenade Gloves, Holden, High Sierra, Marker Bindings, Polarmax, Scott, Seirus, Skull Candy, Smartwool, Tecnica, Thirty Two Boots, Thorlo, Turtle Fur, Under Armour, Mission 6, Monix.

Visit our stores in Columbus Ohio Serving Columbus, Central Ohio, Ohio State University and major cities in Ohio including Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Dayton. Online store serving all 48 contiguous states including California, Los Angeles, San Diego, Pasadena, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Lake Tahoe, Fresno, Long Beach, Modesto, Oakland, Bakersfield, Riverside, San Bernardino, Washington, Tacoma 98422 and Seattle 98101,Colorado -Denver, Aspen, New York, Maryland, Wyoming, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Chicago Illinois, Idaho, Montana, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Ohio Zanesville, Athens, Cincinnati, Toledo, Hudson, Granville (Dennison University), Utah, Minnesota, West Virginia, Florida, Arizona, Maine, New Mexico, Oregon, Missouri, Arkansas, Nevada, Indianapolis Indiana, East Lansing Michigan, Farmington Hills Michigan, Nashville Tennessee, Toledo Ohio, Austin Texas, Minneapolis Minnesota, Madison Wisconsin, Marquette Michigan, Oregon, Florida Tampa, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta Georgia, Lexington Kentucky, Lawrenceburg Indiana, Eastern Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, State College, Utah. We also serve the North Eastern United States and New England region including, Main, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Universities regions including Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, MIT, Princeton, RPI, Colgate, Bucknell and others.

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